Buhari should accommodate South-East – Nwajiuba

An adviser to the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba, represented the South-East at the last National Conference. In this interview, he speaks of the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Igbo political agenda, among other issues

How would you describe Buhari’s victory and do you think he can actually fight corruption that has been the bane of Nigeria’s development?

Since democracy is about the wish of the majority of the people, I believe that the outcome of the election is the wish of majority of Nigerians. With respect to fighting corruption, I believe that he has that reputation and he has the interest. I don’t want to believe that Nigerians have invested wrongly by voting him in. I believe that his greatest contribution would be his image as an anti-corruption person. We expect his government to be more open and more sincere with the declaration of assets starting from the Presidency down to all the aides that he would appoint.


What kind of people do you expect him to appoint as ministers?

What we want are people who will work for Nigeria and Nigerians; people who will be committed and people who are equipped with the vision of a better society. We need people with ideas that will take us above where we are today. That is what Nigeria deserves. What I expect President Buhari to do is not to suddenly become somebody who would rely heavily on technocrats from the World Bank, IMF, UN, etc. If that has not been his natural approach to things, I would be surprised if he looks in that direction. You saw what he did at the Petroleum Trust Fund, where he used some local consultants. That is what he is familiar with.

I have read in the newspapers that many politicians have been defecting to the All Progressives Congress. I am not sure what their motive is, maybe for contracts and appointments. But I know they will be disappointed.

The South-East did not vote for Buhari in the presidential election. Don’t you think this would affect the region politically?

This is democracy and it is about freedom of choice. People make their choices based on their interests and also based on the information available to them. The majority of the people in the South-East are not impressed by his records as Head of State, as Head of PTF, and some comments attributed to him since he became a civilian politician. He has the opportunity to show another side of himself now that he is President. However, take note that Buhari did not win in Ekiti, Taraba, Nasarawa and Plateau states too. So, what is the big deal about that of the South-East? Eight years ago, there were people in some of the northern states who did not believe in Buhari as the results of the election then showed. But this time, people voted for him. Four years ago, many of the states in the South-West didn’t vote for him. The majority of the the people in the South-East, based on their understanding, interests and the information available to them, felt like supporting former President Goodluck Jonathan. There is no crime in that.

Don’t you think the little votes Buhari recorded in the South-East could deprive the region of strategic positions in the incoming administration?

What are the things provided for in the constitution? The constitution provides that every state will have a minister. If Buhari does not appoint a minister – at least one from each of the five South-East states – that is when the South-East should feel marginalised or even go to court. But I don’t think he will do that. Nigerians like to confuse privileges and rights and it will be left for Buhari to pick whoever he likes by whatever criteria and then assign whichever portfolio. As I said, he has an opportunity to address the various sections of the country fairly.

What about the place of the Igbo in the leadership of the National Assembly in the coming political dispensation?

Clearly, we did not elect any senator from the South-East on the platform of the APC and I would not want anybody to start defecting to the APC in order to be elected Senate President because that would be a very wrong thing to do. But in the House of Representatives, the APC has an option because we have elected APC members from the South-East – though they are not ranking members – but they are there. What I will expect of Buhari is not to do something illegal but to show the South-East some goodwill and say, “Look, I can actually go out of my way to accommodate you.” But in the long run, it is not in the interest of the government to abandon the South-East.